Jerry De Weerdt is chasing a record in the 2018 season. The Belgian, who won the Legend Trophy back to back in the last two years, is once again leading the classification rewarding drivers aged 40 and over and a third consecutive win would put his name in the record books as the first driver accomplish the feat in any of the NWES classifications.
Despite a 20-point lead on Francesco Parli at the end of the regular season, De Weerdt is well aware that the task is not going to be an easy one, because with double points awarded for each race in the playoffs, any little mistake can be fatal and will therefore focus on the ELITE 2 Division only instead of racing both the NWES divisions.
“It’s definitely not done yet and the competition is getting tougher every year. We skipped Hockenheim last year so it will be completely new for us this time, but then we’ll have the advantage of our home race at Zolder” said the Braxx Racing driver/owner. “It’s going to be exciting and after having some bad luck during the regular season, we really want to close the season on a high note.”
With five Legend Trophy wins in the regular season and a total of 11 career wins in the over-40 classification, De Weerdt definitely has experience on his side, but Swiss rookie Francesco Parli is on a progression that brought him the best result of the season in the last race at Tours Speedway. The driver of the #31 Race Art Tech – Blu Motorsport Chevrolet Camaro took the Legend Trophy win in both races in France and finished fifth on Sunday, his first top-5 since joining NASCAR.
“I’m very happy about our season so far. We’re using 2018 to develop for the future and results have constantly improved, the entire team did a great job and we are understanding the car better every time we hit the track,” said Parli, who was brilliant in taking advantage of the cone rule on the French short track. “Our goal was to close the season in the top-10. I think we are on pace to accomplish it and being in the hunt for the Legend Trophy adds even more motivation for the next four races.”
The two drivers also share the goal to finish inside the top-10 in the ELITE 2 Division standings and enjoy battling door-to-door with each other on track.
“I had a lot of fun racing against Francesco in Tours, I was behind him all race long on Sunday and I thought I was a little bit quicker but I never managed to pass him,” said De Weerdt of his Swiss rival. “He’s a fair driver on track and I’m sure we’ll have a nice couple of races in the playoffs. The summer has been long and I can’t wait to get back on track.”
“It is a pleasure to race against Jerry and we hope to further close the gap at Hockenheim, even if for me all the tracks are completely new. I think we’re moving in the right direction and I hope Jerry will need to start worrying soon!” smiled Parli.
Arianna Casoli sits third in the Legend Trophy classification – 23 points behind Parli – followed by Belgian rookie Diederik Ceyssens.
As for all championship and trophies of the NASCAR Whelen Euro Series, the driver who will bring home the Legend Trophy at the end of the October 20-21 Circuit Zolder Finals will earn the opportunity to take part in a NASCAR race in the US.
The iconic Hockenheimring in Germany will host the NASCAR Whelen Euro Series Semi Finals on September 15-16 and all the races will be streamed live on Fanschoice.tv, the NASCAR Whelen Euro Series youtube channel and Facebook page and a vast network of websites and social media profiles.
NASCAR Euro Series PR
